NBA MVP Rankings - 2008-2009

2009 was an exciting season for the NBA. LeBron James, who had been the league's best player for quite a while, won his first MVP award as he led the Cavaliers to the league's best record. Three teams finished with at least 60 wins, and one of those, the Los Angeles Lakers, ended up taking home the championship, with Kobe Bryant winning his first NBA Finals MVP award. I have re-ranked the contenders for each of the major awards that year statistically, and the following is where I would have ranked each one, with actual voting results in parentheses.

Most Valuable Player

1. LeBron James - CLE - 28.4 pts, 7.6 reb, 7.2 ast (1)

Not much of a question here. He was the league's best player. His team had the league's best record. He was name Eastern Conference Player of the Month 4 times. He was named to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team. He was 2nd in the NBA in scoring. The only knock on LeBron's season is that Cleveland failed to win the championship, but this award is for the regular season only.

2. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 26.8 pts, 5.2 reb, 4.9 ast (2)

Kobe's stats were down across the board from his MVP season, but I'm pretty sure you won't hear him complaining that he won the Finals MVP rather than the regular season version. His team won the Western Conference by 11 games in the regular season, then went 16-7 in the playoffs as Kobe earned his 4th ring.

3. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.9 pts, 9.6 reb, 3.5 ast (NR)

If you want to know why the Lakers were able to improve so quickly and win the title despite Kobe having a decrease in production, look no further than the Lakers' new big man. Pau was the piece the Lakers had been missing since Shaq left, and while he took a small statistical hit when he moved to LA, the title makes it all worth it.

4. Dwight Howard - ORL - 20.6 pts, 13.8 reb, 2.9 blk (4)

Howard led the league in rebounding and blocked shots while winning the Defensive Player of the Years award for the first time, then guided Orlando through upsets of Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs before losing to the Lakers in the Finals.

5. Brandon Roy - POR - 22.6 pts, 4.7 reb, 5.1 ast (9)

Roy had his best overall season as he led Portland to a tie for the second-best record in the West and a trip to the playoffs. The former Rookie of the Year set career highs that are still standing in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.

6. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 30.2 pts, 5.0 reb, 7.5 ast (3)

Wade led the league in scoring and was probably the only reason that Miami made the playoffs, but they were barely above .500 for the season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first time in three years that Wade had not missed significant time to injuries, and he took advantage, posting his best season to date.

7. Chris Paul - NOH - 22.8 pts, 11.0 ast, 2.8 stl (5)

Paul was another example of a great player on an average team, leading the league in both assists and steals for the second straight year while averaging over 20 points as well. It was also the only time that Paul had shot over 50% for a full season, and it remains the best season of his career.

8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 25.9 pts, 8.4 reb, 2.4 ast (10)

Dirk had a better year statistically that he did in 2007, when he won the MVP, but the Mavericks were only good enough to grab the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, although they were able to upset San Antonio in the first round. It was his 9th straight season averaging over 20 points per game, and he isn't through yet.

9. Tim Duncan - SAS - 19.3 pts, 10.7 reb, 3.5 ast (11)

Duncan averaged under 20 points per game, just the 3rd time that had happened, and the Spurs ended up ranked 3rd in the West going into the playoffs, where they were upset by the Mavericks in the first round. Even though he wasn't at his peak anymore, he was still the face of the Spurs and their best player.

10. Tony Parker - SAS - 22.0 pts, 3.1 reb, 6.9 ast (8)

This appeared to be the year that the Spurs passed the torch from Duncan to Parker, who set career highs in scoring and assists as he led San Antonio to the playoffs yet again. Injuries have prevented him from duplicating his performance from that season, but he's young enough that he may still have a chance to regain it.

Not quite there:

Carmelo Anthony

Rookie of the Year

1. Derrick Rose - CHI - 16.8 pts, 3.9 reb, 6.3 ast (1)

Rose's stellar rookie year was a sign of things to come in Chicago. In just his first year, he was able to lead the Bulls back to the playoffs and very deservingly won the Rookie of the Year award against a pretty good class of contenders. As good as he was then, he is that much better today.

2. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 15.3 pts, 4.9 reb, 5.3 ast (4)

I can't quite figure out why Westbrook was voted 4th in the Rookie of the Year race after a season in which he showed that he could do it all. Besides his very solid numbers in scoring, rebounds, and assists, he averaged over a steal per game and didn't miss a single game, a streak that is still intact today.

3. O.J. Mayo - MEM - 18.5 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.2 ast (2)

Mayo may have been the highest scoring rookie, but Rose and Westbrook both had better assist and rebound numbers. Mayo has not been able to return to the form of his rookie year, with significant drops in every statistical category each season.

4. Eric Gordon - LAC - 16.1 pts, 2.6 reb, 2.8 ast (5)

Gordon may not be in the potential MVP class of Rose and Westbrook yet, but at least he hasn't fallen down where Mayo has. The current leading scorer for Los Angeles played his way into the starting lineup within his first month with the team, and he's stayed there ever since.

5. Brook Lopez - NJN - 13.0 pts, 8.1 reb, 1.8 blk (3)

Lopez immediately showed that he was ready to be an NBA big man with a very strong rookie year for the Nets. He shot over 53% for the season and has not missed a single game yet in his career. His career, like most on this list, continues to show a lot of promise.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Jason Terry - DAL - 19.6 pts, 2.4 reb, 3.4 ast (1)

Terry had his best scoring season since his sophomore campaign with the Atlanta Hawks nearly a decade earlier and gave Dallas the firepower it needed off the bench. He also shot 88% from the free throw line, very close to his career high set 6 years before.

2. Nate Robinson - NYK - 17.2 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.1 ast (3)

The 5-foot, 9-inch Robinson showed that he was more than just someone to entertain at the All-Star Dunk Contest with his best season by far. He set career highs in every category, all of which are still standing, and ensured that he would be around the league for many more seasons.

3. J.R. Smith - DEN - 15.2 pts, 3.7 reb, 2.8 ast (2)

The long-range marksman got the most consistent playing time of his career and rewarded the Nuggets by having his best season up to that point. He may not score big every night, but when he's hot, no one in the league can stop him.

4. Lamar Odom - LAL - 11.3 pts, 8.2 reb, 2.6 ast (4)

Odom became a bench player for the first time in his career, but his production per minute didn't change at all. Odom's move to the bench opened up space for Pau Gasol on the front line, a move that proved to be very important for the Lakers in their championship run.

5. Ramon Sessions - MIL - 12.4 pts, 3.4 reb, 5.7 ast (NR)

In Sessions' first full NBA season, he showed a lot of promise after a great stint with the Bucks after being called up from the D-League the previous season. He may not have great shooting range, but his assist to turnover ratio was very close to 3 while guiding the team off the bench.

Most Improved Player

1. Nene - DEN - +9.3 pts, +2.4 reb, +0.5 ast (5)

My guess is that Nene didn't win this award because many saw him as a better candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award, which no longer exists. After missing 2 of the 3 previous seasons due to a torn ACL and testicular cancer, his strong resurgence in 2009 deserves recognition.

2. Kevin Durant - OKC - +5.0 pts, +2.1 reb, +0.4 ast (3)

In the team's first year in Oklahoma City, Durant went from the runaway Rookie of the Year winner to superstar in just his second year. He finished 6th in the league in scoring before becoming the league scoring leader in his third year, a very tough jump to make when you're already a very good player.

3. Marquis Daniels - IND - +5.4 pts, +1.7 reb, +0.2 ast (NR)

Daniels took over as a starter in Indiana when Mike Dunleavy went down with an injury, and he had the best season of his career. It wasn't enough to convince the Pacers to keep him after the season, but he was able to land a spot on Boston's bench the next year, where he has been a solid role player.

4. Paul Millsap - UTA - +5.4 pts, +3.0 reb, +0.8 ast (4)

Millsap spent a lot of time starting in place of an injured Carlos Boozer, and looked a lot like a previous Jazz power forward from Louisiana Tech. His performance made Boozer expendable, and now that he is a full-time starter, he's living up to the high expectations.

5. Jeff Green - OKC - +6.0 pts, +2.0 reb, +0.5 ast (25)

Green's improvement wasn't noticed as much as Durant's, but he also proved that the was an important piece of Oklahoma City's future along with rookie Russell Westbrook. It was Green's best season so far, but he hasn't dropped very far in the two seasons since.

NBA Player of the Day

Elton Brand - PHI - 33 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk, 14-23 FG, 5-5 FT

This is not a throwback like everything else in this post, even if it looks like it. Elton Brand actually scored over 30 points for the first time in over 3 years as he led the 76ers to an upset of the Knicks last night. The 76ers used a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter to eke out the victory right at the end.